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Old 2018.08.25, 05:22 AM   #1
Minizorro
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M2 aluminium Shims/spacer, where to source

Hello, despite of the power of search engines, I am really not having much luck with this so I though I ask here.
I like to do a lot of messing around and customisations to my mini-z.
One thing I dont seem to ever have enough of are shims and spacers.
I have purchased several PN racing M2 spacers (the blue and orange ones) but I was interested in purchasing a large amount of different thickness, so I dont have to be so paranoid about loosing them. PN ones are cheap in small amounts but not if I want 100 pieces, plus they dont sell thicker ones.
I have previously purchased ceramic balls in bulk from china and quality was same as PN at 1/10th of the price and I can now relax if a ball bounces off and disappears.. same with my hex screws.. I would really like to source shims and spacers now. One time while on a visit to Japan I found a shop that had tons of alu M2 spacers of various thickness for the little Tamyia mini 4wd cars, I wish i bought more. No luck whatsoever finding anything now. M2 is small, a lot easier to find M3 spacers which are probably much more commonly used. Any tip is appreciated. And yes, you just spent 2 minutes of your time reading a post about shims...

Last edited by Minizorro; 2018.08.25 at 05:24 AM. Reason: Typos
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Old 2018.08.25, 06:42 AM   #2
Mike Keely
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McMaster Carr sells 2mm washers. Not sure if they sell aluminum washers
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Old 2018.08.25, 08:17 AM   #3
Minizorro
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Thanks for your reply. I did manage to find generic metal shims but those tend to be not very precise in thickness and the outer diameter is often quite big, while the pn alu ones have a much smaller outer diameter (which i need) and are more precisely cut.. Im also looking for thick ones so i dont have to use loads of thin ones. I know..Im a bit picky!
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Old 2018.08.25, 01:14 PM   #4
TPDazzle
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This doesn't help with your large quantity issue, but GL racing has precise spacers or different thicknesses in aluminum.

http://gl-racing.com/store/option-parts-c-2/2-x-4-alum-coller-set-051015mm-blue-p-132.html

Last edited by mleemor60; 2018.08.25 at 01:32 PM. Reason: link with pricing
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Old 2018.08.25, 02:21 PM   #5
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I am also interested in getting some. Tired of the inaccuracy of the plastic ones. I used to have a bunch of the reflex ones, but my stock has run out. If you find anything, please post it.

$5 for 6 spacers is just too much when dealing with a fleet of cars.
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Old 2018.08.26, 11:14 AM   #6
Minizorro
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Thanks for the gl-racing link, those spacers are exactly the types Im looking for, except, I agree, the price is an exageration and if I purchased 50 of them I would certainly feel like I have reached the pinnacle of moneywasting. Saying that, I have already wasted a ridiculous amonunt of time looking for an alternative so it might be time to indulge in some GL product since they seem really good.

Im all up for rc companies making money when selling their design, it’s well deserved and Im happy to pay and help them be succesful. But mantaining 6 cars made me shop around and I found so far that.. steering pots cost 1 dollar in Japan, not the $10 they are sold for... that I can buy 100 ceramic balls for the peice of 10 (re)branded.. and many other interesting little moneysaving shortcuts. But the quest for alu shims has proven futile!!

Last edited by Minizorro; 2018.08.26 at 05:20 PM.
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Old 2018.08.26, 04:42 PM   #7
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If you can use brass, look up slot car motor spacers. I think Koford sells some aluminum ones that are .007" thick (.18mm), but I dont know of any other aluminum ones.
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Old 2018.08.26, 05:35 PM   #8
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Try searching on aliexpress. I think they only take cc payment (no paypal) and shipping is often very long but I've bought some really good bearings super cheap.
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Old 2018.08.29, 02:13 PM   #9
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Not bulk just better pricing specially if you can get through LHS & bypass shipping and these are accurately made shims not washers, the OD on these are smaller but that doesn't play any role:

https://www amainhobbies com/lynx-he...-35-05/p454298

Speaking of washers, US made m2 x .5 mm thick sold on the bay are surprisingly close enough to get the job done but still not as precise or neat as machined M2s.

Bulk sourcing of aluminum machined M2 washers has proven pretty elusive...I guess will require an "ultimate deep search" to see if they can be discovered.

Last edited by mleemor60; 2018.08.29 at 02:42 PM. Reason: link with pricing
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Old 2018.08.29, 06:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mugler View Post
Bulk sourcing of aluminum machined M2 washers has proven pretty elusive...I guess will require an "ultimate deep search" to see if they can be discovered.
Comes back in a couple years, I found them!!!!!
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Old 2018.08.31, 03:00 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EMU View Post
Comes back in a couple years, I found them!!!!!
So where are they Can you send a PM?
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Old 2018.08.31, 03:42 PM   #12
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I would be interested as well, especially for screws... I loose those at an alarming rate.
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Old 2018.09.02, 08:06 AM   #13
Minizorro
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Right, an update.
Firts, Aliexpress is indeed a very good source and probably has the lowest prices.
I found things there then I decided I didn't want to use it due to not knowing how it works and because I eventually found the same stuff on ebay.
For screws, ebay and amazon have plenty and with prices that are probably a tenth of prepackaged sets. I got myself hex screws, countersunck and not, in various lengths and spent 35 dollars for probably 1200 screws in total... ill be making presents to my club members I guess, but the price for 20 or 100 was pratically the same!
For shims, as I suspected and then investigated, the best way is to do a search for Tamyia mini 4wd shims/spacers. The little tamyia car is apparently very popular and uses 2mm axles and kingpins so all spacers are right for mini-z.
I found an ebay seller that had what i needed for a reasonable price and went to town..
Jht_mini4wd is the seller name if you are intersted but theres more.
I got some generic shims (thin), some thicker brass ones and some particluarly shaped shims that are probably meant to be used against ballbearings. I found some nice thick coloured alu ones too but were sold in sets where I would have only used the thinner ones in the set and paid for super long spacers i dont have any use for.

Last edited by Minizorro; 2018.09.02 at 08:08 AM.
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Old 2018.09.21, 06:05 PM   #14
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where you able to find the coarse threaded screws as well? Can't seem to find those on eBay. Also got a couple machine thread screws and the socket is far to small. I mistakenly assumed they were all 1.5 hex drive as no size was listed for the hex drive socket.
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